The ceremony began with live music and a speech by student Ioana-Gabriella Denes. Following that, Elin Bommenel, the program director of the Master's program, presented the honorary award for the best Master's thesis in Service Management. This year, the award was given to two papers.
The first thesis, titled ‘Where Is My Wooden Key Card?’: How Chain Hotels Embrace ESG/CSR Practices was authored by Sara Zeynalzade , a student from the Tourism and Culture Development Erasmus programme. The motivation for this thesis was as follows:
The thesis addresses the phenomenon of the Disclosure-performance gap, which focuses on the challenges for organisations to live up to the sustainability principles abbreviated as ESG, that is, Environmental, Social and Governance principles. Through a case study of a hotel, the strategy work of putting the principles into practice in the everyday work of frontline employees is analysed. Through a close and nuanced analysis of strategies in practice, via innovative methods and relevant theories, the thesis contributes new dimensions to the research field. The thesis is an original and well-written piece of work on a highly relevant issue.
The second thesis, titled ”The Interplay Between War-Driven Dark Tourism and Social Sustainability: Local Perspectives from Ukraine” was authored by Ioana-Gabriela Denes and Syeeda Raisa Maliha. The motivation for this thesis was as follows:
This thesis unexpectedly combines the empirical framework of dark tourism with social sustainability theory. With a careful, nuanced and respectful treatment of the rich empirical material, the authors make an excellent scholarly contribution to our understanding of the real-world complexities of violent conflict, social life, voice and influence, and healing.
Later, all Master's students were called up on stage and received congratulations and a diploma from the Deputy Dean, Björn Badersten.
